There was a barber and his wife
by totalphangirl
Summary: Basically Sweeney's thoughts during the final scene. I'd warn you, it's pretty sad and I missed some of the lyrics but I'm personally quite happy with this piece. He mourns over the loss of his wife, he fills with hate over Mrs. Lovett and he happily lets his life be stolen like he had stolen many lives before.


'Open the door I said!' I hissed at Mrs. Lovett, tossing her towards the fire. She stumbled backwards, staring anxiously at me. I rolled up my bloodied sleeves, glancing at the butchered body of Judge Turpin, my soul filled with no glee nor hate, just emptiness. An amber glow flooded the bake-house, illuminating the glistening insides of corpses, their exposed bones radiating in the mellow light. My eyes flickered across my achievements, acknowledging them with a dull interest before turning back to my task. Something flashed. Something of tattered robes, pale skin and yellow hair. I analyzed. No… it couldn't be. Lucy lay there, her delicate hand strung lifelessly over her chest, her golden hair haloing her tormented face and her body clad in a filthy dress. I leaned over reproachfully and gently eased her onto her back. My wife lay splayed out on the floor, her shredded throat oozing blood. Dead. My mouth opened and closed mechanically, fear flooding through my veins. I had killed her. I had killed her. 'Don't I know you? She said,' I whispered. Realization bloomed from grief and I snapped my head upwards, facing Mrs. Lovett. 'You knew she lived… you lied to me!' she babbled something in a desperate plea, tuneless words spewing from her mouth. My heart thumped so loudly in my chest that I heard no voice but my own. 'Lucy… what have I done?' I keened, bending over her body and slowly rising from the sticky floor.

'Yes I lied 'cause I love you…' Mrs. Lovett started, my ears finally acknowledging her. 'Could that _thing _have cared for you like me?' the word stung. Hate pierced me. She was my _wife… _Mrs. Lovett had the nerve to call her a _thing!_ Whipping around I came to my senses and knew my task. I had to finish her. She would be my last kill. I seized hold of her hand and reprised the waltz that made her smile, the waltz I knew she loved.

'Let's keep living it… just keep living it… REALLY LIVING IT!' my hand flew out and I lifted her upwards and tossed her into the fire within a millisecond. She toppled backwards onto a bed of hungry flames and they devoured her slowly, roaring and hissing as she screamed. They lapped at her clothes and blackened her skin as she greeted the pain with a desperate _AHHH!_ Her hands, set ablaze, were flailing in desperation and her whole body glowed eerily, red and orange hands clenching at her throat and seizing her hair, forcing her backwards into death. As she clawed at the flaming air I slowly closed the door, glaring for one last time at the woman I hated so much. I was overcome with a red, triumphant fog that clouded my black eyes. I stood for a while before turning.

My eyes cleared, my heart dropped and I walked weakly towards Lucy. The razor slid from my hand, the metallic heaviness no longer an appeal. As it hit the floor with a loud thump I averted my eyes, saving them only for my wife. She was my reason for living… and she was so beautiful even caked in ashes and soot. I kneeled and gently lifted her head to rest on my knee. As I looked down I remembered snippets of bright life… a flower market… a daughter, and a wife. They were both beautiful… they were both gone. My thoughts were perturbed by loud footsteps on the cobbled floor as the boy Toby approached. I heard his hand grip the razor, the gently scraping and lifting of sharp metal. My life was nothing. My life was his to take. I lifted my head up slightly, my brow controlled and his hand shot out. I heard the slice before I felt it. The first couple of seconds remained eerily painless before I was overcome with the sharp stinging I had inflicted on my wife. Ripples of pain shot through me, my throat bubbled as I gargled blood and then… it subsided; Lucy replaced it.

**THE END**


End file.
